Unique situation!

Hi, I have a fairly unique situation... my husband's job has him working out of Chicago for the next 1 - 1 1/2 years... after that, he will be coming back to work in SC again. (He is currently working towards building a client base in the SE area to support the opening of a satellite office here ASAP.) Anyways, my two girls, in 1st and 4th, are in public school and we all have been happy. Our area is fortunate to have fantastic public schools and I'm as involved as a parent can possibly be. That said; however, I've always been curious about homeschooling, as I just love spending time with my girls and our free time is never enough!

So, now we will be going to Chicago to be with my husband. We are already counting the days until we can come back! We are keeping our house & planning to rent it out, and will be staying at the house of my sister-in-law without any type of lease that would bind us as being legal residents in Chicago. I have come up with the idea that I want to homeschool the girls while we are gone for the following reasons: First off, I would love the flexibility that homeschooling would provide. Being so far away, I hate the idea of being "trapped" there by the constraints of the public school schedule. We'd love to be able to come back for special Girl Scouts events with our troop for instance, but since it is a 15 hour drive, coming home to SC would otherwise be limited to long school breaks or summer vacation - ugh! Also, I feel that with Chicago's wide range of cultural events, museums, activities, etc... it would be fantastic to have the time to take it all in, and that the experiences could also serve my girls on an educational level.

I consider myself pretty organized, and my girls are bright - my 4th grader is in an excelerated math program & the gifted program, and my 1st grader has been moved into the advanced reading & spelling group in her class. (Not to sound like a braggy parent, just to further explain our situation! )

So, I am thinking that the Option 3 homeschooling may be the right fit for us. I am excited to have this extra time with my girls and share all these experiences with them but I still have concerns. The first concern is that I am doing everything to maintain my status as a SC resident - I don't plan on getting a new IL state DL unless I have to, etc... Since we will still own our home here, does that allow me to gain membership with an option 3 group here? (For that reason, my daughters are able to maintain their memberships in their Girl Scout troops!) My thinking is that we will be coming back & forth relatively often and does it really make a difference whether we are physically in Charleston or Chicago as long as we are fulfilling the SC laws/rules for homeschooling?

So sorry for such a long post, (maybe I should have done a private message?) Anyway, this is where I am with it all now and we are "moving" soon - just after Thanksgiving - so not a lot of time to figure it all out! Also, any hints towards a curriculum that is easy to follow would be great. We are Christian, and very active at our church, but for the purposes of homeschooling, I'm really looking more to stay on track with the "common core" stuff so that should we decide to go back to public school upon our return, it will be as smooth a transition as possible.

I truly, truly appreciate your time in reading all of this and taking the time to give me your thoughts. It could be that I have overlooked some major piece of the puzzle as well! I really appreciate any guidance you can offer!

Sorry for adding even MORE detail! I just felt I should add that we may not actually rent our home here - considering the items we would need to address before a tenant moved in - a fresh coat of paint throughout, carpet cleaning, various repairs, management fees - time-wise and cost-wise, we may opt to let the house sit vacant. (I am also afraid of locking in a tenant not knowing how soon we'll be ready to live here permanently again!)

Just wanted to mention that in case it helps add to our "case" of being SC residents & Chicago "visitors"!!

Thanks again!
PS - I have thoroughly read through your website and I am so impressed both with the content and the open & positive attitude this group has! I will be applying for membership ASAP if you feel we are candidates with our situation.

Thanks for being so patient with me while I was getting sorted out at Disney!

Regarding membership with Carolina Homeschooler - you can become a member regardless of what state you homeschool in. Out-of-state members don't need the Option 3 services I provide, but they can take advantage of my discounts and member events.

That said, I don't know how the law works in Illinois, but I think if you reside there, you may have to abide by their homeschool laws or you could possibly face truancy issues. It's definitely something you'll need to research before you move there (even if you keep your legal residency as SC).

If you'd like, I can ask my Facebook community if there are any Illinois homeschoolers there who could advise you. I also recommend double-checking with a state group to make sure you get accurate information about the homeschool law there.

Thanks, Billie Jo, for taking the time to read my long, too-much-detail-story! I will definitely check out the sites you mentioned right now.

I am praying that I will find peace in making the "right" choice for my girls, whatever it may be... and that I will be capable of providing my girls the education they need: covering the appropriate skills and range of material, should we return to the public school system in the near future. It will definitely be an educational adventure, no matter what! (For them, and me!)

(Illinois State Board of Education site) Here is an excerpt: Parents who permit a child to attend a home school ... are free to decide the manner, time and materials which best suit the learning needs of their children. Parents may determine what type of home-schooling curriculum is best for their students, what materials to use, how much homework to assign, how homework is to be assessed, and what records of the student’s accomplishments should be kept. Testing is not required in the state of Illinois for homeschoolers. There are private testing resources if parents choose to have their children evaluated. Parents who choose to educate their students in the home through the high school years may determine when their student has met the graduation requirements of their private home school and is therefore entitled to receive a high school diploma.

My thinking was that it would just make things simpler to stay with SC - less confusion when switching back - but maybe it doesn't make a difference. I will delve deeper to see which is the safest way to go. Certainly do not want a truancy officer to come knocking!

Thank you for your help... I may have more questions as I find my way!